Deputy PM: Azerbaijan to demand compensation if Armenian stance persists
By Sara Rajabova
The damage caused to Azerbaijan by the Armenian aggression is estimated at $300 billion, according to Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee on Refugees and IDPs, Ali Hasanov.
Hasanov made the remarks during his speech at an event held on August 22 over the 20th anniversary of Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijan's Fizuli and Jabrayil regions.
According to Hasanov, international organizations, including those of Russia, are involved in calculating the damages caused to Azerbaijan in the aftermath of the aggressive policy of Armenia.
As he noted, if Armenia fails to relinquish its non-constructive position, Azerbaijan will demand payment of these funds as compensation.
"Whereas until now the number of refugees and IDPs has been 1 million, now it will be 1.2 million. This amendment is based on the indicator of a natural increase of the population in Azerbaijan," Hasanov said.
Besides, he stressed the need to change the methodology of conducting events during the anniversaries of the occupation of Azerbaijani regions.
Hasanov noted that on those days major events should be organized to condemn the actions committed by the Armenians.
According to him, on the occupation anniversary days events should be held in the world against the separatist and chauvinist policy of Armenia.
"We will prepare such a proposal by the Azerbaijani government. I believe that on the days of the occupation anniversaries foreign embassies, representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora, and the Azerbaijani public should conduct awareness-raising events, which can cause resonance throughout the world. It is necessary to constantly inform the world so that the international community would be aware of the Armenian chauvinism," Hasanov said.
He also pointed out that marking the anniversary of the occupation this way would be more correct and effective.
Meanwhile, Vice-Speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament Bahar Muradova stressed while visiting the Alley of Martyrs that though the steps taken for the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have created conditions for dissemination of Azerbaijani realities in the world, they haven't helped to resolve it completely.
"Nevertheless, currently, Azerbaijan's economy, policy and military power provide an opportunity to take decisive measures to liberate the occupied regions. The decisiveness and willingness of the state and the Azerbaijani President are sufficient for this. The pursued policy is still focused on a peaceful solution of the conflict and we hope that all methods for peaceful resolution of the conflict haven't been exhausted yet," Muradova said.
Besides, Azerbaijan's Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Elmira Suleymanova said that the Armenian government and nation should change their ideology.
"They should understand that no matter how long this conflict lasts, it will end up with peace. No matter how long it lasts, it will end up with the return of the territories and restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity," Suleymanova said.
She noted that it is favorable not only for Azerbaijan, but also for Armenia, as well as for the entire region and the world.
"If there is a turnaround in the policy of states, it will be a great support to sustainable development as a whole," Suleymanova said.
In connection with the 20th anniversary of the occupation of Fizuli and Jabrayil regions, a group of intellectuals and war veterans visited the Alley of Martyrs in Baku.
On August 23, Azerbaijani people mark the 20th anniversary of the occupation of Fuzuli and Jabrayil regions by the armed forces of Armenia.
On August 23, 1993, 51 villages and the center of the Fuzuli region were seized by the Armenians, resulting in more than 55,000 residents' leaving their homes.
Around 1,000 people were displaced during the occupation of the Fizuli and Jabrayil regions.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.
As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.